Former hostage Eli Sharabi, actress Shani Cohen to host October 7 remembrance ceremony

AUGUST 31, 2026 14:14Former hostage Eli Sharabi and Israeli actress Shani Cohen are slated to host this year's national memorial ceremony for the events of October 7, which will take place in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park on Wednesday, October 7, 2026.The independent ceremony, named the National Memorial Ceremony of October 7 Families, is organized by Kumu, an Israeli grassroots movement focused on ensuring that the lessons of October 7 are not forgotten.It was first held in 2024, after the bereaved families refused to take part in the government’s state memorial ceremony, citing its failures in the Israel-Hamas War.As in previous years, the ceremony will be broadcast across Israeli and foreign media, and on community programs internationally.The ceremony’s start time and line-up have yet to be announced.Eli Sharabi, a former hostage, holds a photograph of himself during his release by Hamas as he the United Nations Security Council in New York City, US, March 20, 2025 (credit: REUTERS/MIKE SEGAR)Oct. 7 cannot be forgotten“I am very excited to host this year's national memorial ceremony for the families of October 7,” Sharabi said. “I am fulfilling what I promised my wife Leanne, my daughters Noya and Yahel, and my brother Yossi, may their memory be blessed – that they, and what happened to them, will never be forgotten.”“October 7 must remain engraved in our hearts as an iron date forever. It must not be blurred, and time must not forget.”The day cannot pass without a meaningful, national ceremony, affirmed Sharabi, “but I will stand there with all the strength and love that I receive from you, to pay respect to the murdered and the fallen, to the bereaved families and to the entire people of Israel."“October 7 is a significant event in all of our lives,” Cohen echoed. “I have accompanied many families and people in the pain of their loss since then and to this day, and I am proud to lead the ceremony alongside a person who chose life despite everything he has been through.”"This is something that moves me very much: our strength to overcome despite the terrible difficulty and to strengthen others along the way."Symbols of 'Israeliness'Omri Shafroni, who lost four family members in Kibbutz Be’eri during the October 7 massacre and is one of the ceremony’s organizers, added that the ceremony “expresses the deep pain of all of us and the shared responsibility and hope for the State of Israel.”He praised the choice of hosts for the upcoming ceremony.“I am very moved by the hosts who chose to lead the ceremony,” he said. “Eli Sharabi, whom I knew from the paths and sidewalks in Be’eri, who chose life after the worst of it all, and the talented Shani Cohen, who for me is a symbol of Israeliness.”“I have no doubt that they are the most suitable to lead the ceremony that will tell the story of our families, and of all of Israeli society."Follow us on Google